The Karnataka High Court has quashed the proceedings against a woman who is involved in a bigamy case.
The woman who filed the quash petition disputed the criminal case filed against her by the Banaswadi police, based on a complaint filed by her husband’s first wife.
In her complaint, the first wife claimed that she married the man in April 2004 in Bengaluru, and after a year, they moved to the United Kingdom. She said that her husband returned to India in February 2006 without informing her and married another woman, despite still being married to her.
The Banaswadi police registered the bigamy case in 2017 based on the complaint. They arraigned the petitioner, who was the second wife, as the second accused. The charge sheet mentioned offenses punishable under IPC sections 494, 417, and 420.
The second wife, currently residing in Pemberton, Canada, argued that she immediately sought a divorce from a court in Kerala upon discovering the deceit by her husband. It was claimed that she obtained a divorce from the competent court in Kerala regarding their marriage.
"On perusal of the documents, I have no hesitation to hold that the petitioner herself was deceived by the accused husband and was lured into marriage. On coming to know this, the petitioner has retraced her steps and sought divorce.
"Therefore, the offence under IPC Section 494 can hardly be laid against the petitioner. In the teeth of the aforesaid peculiar facts, if further proceedings are permitted to continue, it would become an abuse of the process of the law and result in miscarriage of justice,” Justice M Nagaprasanna said.
Published 12 July 2023, 20:52 IST